Britain is to overhaul the running of its rail network to give service operators a role in managing the tracks their trains use to try to improve reliability

Instead, a new company will be in charge of tracks as well as operating the train services, under new plans set out by transport secretary, Chris Grayling.

When the railways were privatised in the mid-nineties the government separated the running of the railways tracks and trains and gave them to different companies. Now it wants to merge the way they are run in England.

Currently companies such as Stagecoach and Virgin Group which together operate trains on Britain's east coast line between London and Scotland and Network Rail work separately from one another.

“What we are doing is taking this line out of Network Rail’s control,” Grayling told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Grayling said joint management teams would mean that both sides worked more closely to improve services.

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Britain privatised rail services in the 1990s. Since then passenger numbers have doubled, leading to overcrowding and putting more pressure on Network Rail to maintain tracks and upgrade infrastructure.

“Network Rail has got a huge number of projects to deliver at the moment … I want it to happen quicker. This is an essential corridor for this country. On that route we are going to bring in private finance, in a form to be decided.”

He is expected to outline the government plans to unite the two services in a keynote speech today, which are currently publically owned by Network Rail and private train operating companies (TOCs).